Monday, 19 April 2010
6.30pm — 8.30pm
The Clock Hotel, Surry Hills
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Guest Speaker: Tony Bonner
Tony Bonner
Despite receiving star billing in countless television and film productions, not to mention a host of guest appearances over the years, it is for the role of flight ranger Jerry King on the legendary series “Skippy” that Tony is best remembered.
Although his parents were both talented performers (his father played baritone leads in many musicals and his mother was a fine soprano concert singer), neither encouraged him to pursue a career in the arts.
“I was always aware of my father’s background with the theatrical company J.C. Williamson”, he says. But, in the end, the choice to immerse himself in the acting world was a decision he made for himself. “I worked as a dresser for a J.C. Williamson musical, took singing and dance classes. Then, when I thought I was ready, I started to audition, made my first show The Sentimental Bloke and away I went.”
Tony’s work can be seen in “Anzacs”, The Man from Snowy River, The Lighthorsemen, “Power Without Glory”, “Skippy”, “Skyways”, “Home and Away”, and “Neighbours”.
Tony’s stage work includes the productions of Love Letters, Only When I Laugh, The Sentimental Bloke, The Cellophane Ceiling, Are You Being Served? and The Three Musketeers, while the last play he directed was a stage adaptation of the screen classic One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.
In recent years he has used the skills to train and motivate young actors and models through private workshops and classes throughout Australia, New Zealand, and Los Angeles. Some of Tony’s students are now enjoying worldwide success in television, film, and on the stage.
Tony’s most recent nomination from the AFI was for Best Supporting Actor in 2004.